Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Cop Covered in Blood When Wife Found Dead; Home Invader Caught on Nanny Cam Beating Mother; `Affluenza` Teen and Parents Evade Justice System; Maryland Senior Deputy Killed in Line of Duty. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired February 18, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, young mom Ashley Fallis`s death the early morning hours of New Year`s Eve immediately ruled a suicide.
Bombshell tonight. Even with her cop husband covered in his wife`s blood at the scene, the official cause of death remains suicide -- until now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ashley died in her Evans home from a gunshot wound.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That wound on the back of her head isn`t where she could do it herself, Tom. It is not.
TOM FALLIS, ACCUSED OF MURDER: Bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED)! Bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED)! Bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED), bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED) bull
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)! I didn`t shoot my wife!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her family never believed she would take her own life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That from CBS "48 Hours."
Warning, graphic video. The nannycam shows it all, a mother and child sit together watching TV when suddenly, a hulking 230-pound tattooed home
invader burst in the room, viciously beating Mommy to the floor, raining down one deadly blow after the next, the little girl watching in horror as
her mom brutalized.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caught on a nannycam mercilessly beating a mother inside her home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brutal punches and vicious kicks that sent her flying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Attacking the mom as her 3-year-old daughter sat helplessly on a couch clutching a blanket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The desperate search for a Florida mom, her car just discovered outside Beal`s (ph) department store where she works.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you seen Carrie Jones (ph)? This mother has been missing from her home in Jacksonville, Florida, since the beginning of
February. According to her boyfriend, Jones left after the couple had an argument about a Facebook post.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A rich kid high on weed and Xanax mows four people down dead, a fifth paralyzed. He gets straight probation. Then he and his mommy skip
to Mexico, living it up in a beachside resort, blowing two grand on strip clubs. But tonight, it`s a family affair, affluenza mom on house arrest.
In the last hours, does affluenza dad strangle a woman, and like father, like son, no charges while affluenza teen in solitary, because he`s in
danger?
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Young mom Ashley Fallis`s death, the early morning hours of New Year`s Eve, immediately ruled a suicide even though her cop
husband is covered in his wife`s blood there at the scene. The official cause of death remained suicide, until now.
The first thing I want to do before I go out to John Rush with KLZ, take a listen to what we learn in the 911 call.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: What`s the address of your emergency?
TOM FALLIS, HUSBAND OF VICTIM: Zinfandel Street. (INAUDIBLE) My wife just shot herself in the head! Please help me! Please help me!
911 OPERATOR: OK, sir. Listen to me (INAUDIBLE) somebody else get you help on the way, OK? Where is she at?
FALLIS: (INAUDIBLE) Ashley, no! Ashley, no! Ashley, no! Listen to me -- hey!
911 OPERATOR: How old is she, sir?
FALLIS: No! (INAUDIBLE) Come here! You`re staying here! You`re not leaving me! You`re not leaving me! (INAUDIBLE) You stay right (EXPLETIVE
DELETED) here! Look at me! You look at me! You can hear me? You can hear me! I know you can hear me!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s from CBS`s "48 Hours." That is the 911 call background that ticked (ph) off the entire case. We were just showing you also the home
where he, the husband, the cop, and the wife, three young children live.
Now, John Rush, I want to start at the beginning, host of "Rush to Reason" on KLZ. That evening, hadn`t there been a New Year`s Eve party in their
home?
JOHN RUSH, HOST, "RUSH TO REASON" (via telephone): Yes, I believe, Nancy - - and thanks for having me. I believe the party was just for their immediate family. It was a New Year`s celebration. And yes, they were
just celebrating New Year`s (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Well, where were all the guests, John, when this occurred? Had they already left?
RUSH: A lot of them had left because he had started to get irate with her. And so a lot of the -- I think both sets of parents, in fact, Nancy, left.
They drove down the street to talk about his behavior.
GRACE: So he was basically having an argument with his young wife. There are three children live in the home.
[20:05:05]There you`re seeing the party scene. It was all set up for a New Year`s Eve party with lots of friends and family over.
I want to go through not only the party scene photos, but I want to look at the crime scene photos. What, if anything, can we learn? Graphic warning,
everyone.
Pause on this photo. This is the room, the bedroom, the master bedroom where the shooting occurred. Now, look, there`s a cop`s maglight on the
floor. If somebody is shot in the head, I`m just telling you from seeing many, many homicide and suicide scenes, you`re going to get more blood than
what you`re seeing right there.
OK, look. Don`t move yet. There is blood spatter on the wall, the flashlight on the floor. I`d like to point out, and we`re going to show
you later, photos of the wife, 28-year-old Ashley Fallis`s, knees and legs covered in bruises.
The gun is lying right there. Interesting, on the bed is a packed overnight bag -- a packed overnight bag. And if you can look on the
dresser, there are divorce papers on the dresser.
Let`s move to the next picture, please. You`re seeing a crime scene that doesn`t strike me as suicide. This is not enough blood with a head wound
to be a suicide. I`m just telling you.
Please advance. There`s the maglight. And again, note the amount of blood. The bullet hole is on the wall. There was an entry into the right
side of her head, an exit, and it went into the wall. The trajectory path, downwards to up.
Now, look at the spray. Right there, pause. Look at the spray. The spray is going from left to right. How do I know that? Because the spray is
petering out toward the top right. See that? It starts turning into dots. At the bottom, it`s a full spray.
On the other hand, is it starting to slide downward? That`s why the blood spatter expert is so important. Look at the lamp. You see blood spatter
on the lamp, as well. The trajectory of this blood will tell an expert exactly where the woman was when she was shot, given her height.
Let`s move ahead. There you see their bedroom again. You see the blood on the wall in relation to the rest of the room. Right now, as we`re looking
at this, I want you to keep this in mind.
John Rush, look at what`s on the floor right here, John Rush. The photos are ripped off the wall. How is that a suicide, John Rush?
RUSH: Well, it doesn`t appear to be one to me. And even the 911 tape I heard a moment ago that you just played, what I would have to ask, and that
is when he`s telling her not to leave him, is he telling her not to leave him because she just died or not to leave him because the divorce papers
are on the dresser?
GRACE: That`s a good point, John Rush. Now, John, stay with me. Also with me, Meredyth Censullo, investigative reporter. If this is a homicide
and not a suicide, as I strongly suspect, there was a cover-up amongst the police department. But first, let`s take a look at what the cop husband
has to say when they bring him in to hear his side of the story. Remember, this has been ruled a suicide. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would have to go like this. She`s telling you to get off of her.
FALLIS: I wasn`t on her!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you think someone said that? They could hear her...
FALLIS: I wasn`t...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... vividly saying...
FALLIS: ... on her!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... Get off of me, get off of me.
FALLIS: I wasn`t on her!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody`s just making that up, Tom?
FALLIS: Yes. My wife never told me to get off of her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And so when you went upstairs, you were arguing with her. That wound on the back of her head isn`t where she could do it
herself, Tom. It is not.
FALLIS: Bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is not.
FALLIS: Bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED), bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED) I didn`t shoot my wife!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, that is from CBS`s "48 Hours." And I can guarantee you, ultimately, a jury, I hope, is going to see that interrogation tape. That
is the husband.
Now, hold -- hold the photo. Look at his left side. Look at that. You wonder where all the blood went? It wasn`t on the floor. There was one
spray on the wall. Look at this.
That`s where the blood went -- Alex Sanchez, defense attorney joining me out of New York -- on him. Why is the blood on him if this is a suicide,
Alex?
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I have no idea. He obviously got it on him when he discovered the body at some point.
GRACE: So Kisha Hebbon joining me out of Atlanta, I`d like to get back in the middle of the road and out of the weeds. My question was about the
blood stains. That`s why there`s not blood on the floor. It`s on him.
[20:10:12]KISHA HEBBON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, it`s not unreasonable to believe that the blood could be on him because he was holding her after she
shot herself. If you listen to this...
GRACE: Pause. Let me ask you -- I`m going to explore that with you because that`s a very good theory. You and Sanchez have brought up an
excellent theory. And I`d like to see the blood, please. Let`s think through your theory, Alex Sanchez and Kisha Hebbon, because if your theory
is true, the blood, once you shoot yourself with a weapon with this kind of power, the blood immediately sprays everywhere.
So if he ran to her and picked her up after she shoots herself, the blood still isn`t on the floor. Even if he does get blood transferred to him,
irrelevant because the blood is not on the floor!
And I want you to hear what else he said. Please play the interrogation tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FALLIS: ... because I just shaved my chest. I just shaved it because I`ve never done it before. I`m sitting there going like this with my shirt
because itches and scratches.
You`re accusing me of killing my wife, I`m not supposed to get upset that (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were upset before this.
FALLIS: Yes, because I`ve been...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... blow off the handles (ph), what they`re saying.
FALLIS: Nobody -- I did not shoot Ashley. I didn`t shot my wife. I didn`t shoot the mother of my kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, there you see the husband in interrogation now. I want to show you another photo. PS, that is from CBS`s "48 Hours."
Liz, could you please bring up the photo of his chest? Now, he`s saying he`s got covered in scratches -- just stick with that photo, please -- that
he`s covered in scratches because he just shaved.
Could I see the close-up, please? His chest is covered in hair. He didn`t just shave.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:16:03]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The family has their suspicions about who may be responsible for Ashley`s death.
FALLIS: My wife just shot herself in the head! Please help me! Please help me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That 911 call we obtained (ph) from CBS`s "48 Hours." I agree with Ashley`s family. I do not think that this young mother committed suicide.
Charles, if you could put up the photos of his chest. We just heard him in an interrogation tape giving this account of what happened, saying he had
scratches on his chest because he had just shaved his chest. Now, shaving his chest, that`s a whole `nother can of worms.
But look at this. He`s got hair all over his chest. To me, it looks like he has shaved it in the past and it`s grown back. But I was just going to
throw to that, the scratch along the neck. That`s not from a razor. And there`s another scratch around the neck and chest area, I think. There you
go. Thank you, Charles.
Look at that. That`s in the upper shoulder leading into the neck. That is not a razor scratch. No! Let`s see her fingernails. Oh, that`s the one
on the neck. What, did he shave his whole body?
Let`s see a shot of her fingernails. Now, it`s my understanding that DNA has been found under her fingernails. He is making a big point of saying,
Her DNA, her DNA -- hold that, please -- was not on his chest. Interesting.
Meredyth Censullo, investigative reporter out of Tampa, isn`t it true -- look at these nails -- she was wearing acrylic nails.
MEREDYTH CENSULLO, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Right. So that would point to perhaps there not being any DNA. There`s a whole number of reasons why
that could be. But the most important, I think, to note is that his DNA was found under Ashley`s fingernails.
GRACE: Let`s take a listen to what else happened when he gives police his side of the story. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FALLIS: So when I was in the closet, I a heard her gun cock. And I looked out -- I was, like -- I was, like, What are you doing? And before I even
had a chance to finish my sentence or close the door, I saw the smoke!
I just ran over to her sand I just grabbed her head and I called 911 and I told them our address and I told them that my wife shot herself!
I did not shoot my life. She has a .9-millimeter Taurus that she keeps it under her mattress. She was behind the side of the bed. She was low.
I heard that and there was smoke! I just ran over to her and I just grabbed her head, and I was holding her head and I reached up and I grabbed
her phone and I dialed 911. And I opened her eyes and I started talking to her. I said (INAUDIBLE) You`re not leaving me! You`re not leaving me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s from CBS`s "48 Hours" that we obtained. And as he`s talking, you can see his wife`s blood all over his side. That would be on
his left side. You`re taking a shot -- you`re seeing a shot right now of Ashley Fallis, just 28, a mother of three. They lived in the home.
Joining me right now, certified death investigator, professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University, Joe Scott Morgan. Joe Scott, what can
you tell me about a Taurus?
JOE SCOTT MORGAN, CERTIFIED DEATH INVESTIGATOR: Well, a Taurus is very common. It`s a semi-automatic handgun. He`s saying that she possessed a
.9-millimeter weapon. These are not uncommon. You can find them in any gun store, and a lot of people own them.
GRACE: I understand that you have one with you?
MORGAN: Well, I have a facsimile of a .9-millimeter pistol.
GRACE: Let`s see it.
MORGAN: (INAUDIBLE) right here.
[20:20:02]GRACE: What`s the significance of that?
MORGAN: Well, I think the big question here, Nancy, is this idea that she`s got a gunshot wound to the head that`s what we refer to as not
typical, or atypical. The big thing is, is that they`re saying the gunshot wound is on the right side and rear of the head. This is not where you
would put a weapon if you`re going to shoot yourself. Most people that are going to shoot themselves are going to place it to the right side of their
head.
GRACE: Right. And especially the pull -- the pull on a .9-millimeter.
I want to see the photos, Charles, please, of the bruises on her leg, on her knees, on her shins. And look at this. This is her post-mortem. This
is an autopsy shot. And remember that maglight that was found right beside the blood? Also, according to forensics, we believe she was kneeling at
the time she was killed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:25:09]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now it is past time for Ashley to get the proper investigation that she was deprived of from the very beginning.
FALLIS: I did not shoot Ashley. I didn`t shoot my wife. I didn`t shoot the mother of my kids!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s from CBS`s "48 Hours." He`s saying he didn`t do it. And it was, in fact, ruled a suicide. I disagree. You are seeing shots of Ashley
with husband Tom in their happier days.
Take a listen to what we`ve obtained he said to police that night. And see, he`s still drenched in his wife`s blood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FALLIS: (INAUDIBLE) go get your sister and just tell her to call 911. And my oldest daughter went to come in, and I said, No, just leave, just go
call 911, and tell them come -- just come here quick. And I said, Open up the front door so they can get in.
And the last thing that I heard is that I heard my kids crying in the bedroom (INAUDIBLE)
(INAUDIBLE) early on this we (ph) really started working on us and getting back to -- I started going to counseling.
We were doing so good. Then we found out that she had a positive test, it was, like, All right (INAUDIBLE) we had finally, like, got over everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the day of the party, Tom says Ashley began to bleed and miscarried.
FALLIS: So she was (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s from CBS`s "48 Hours." Did you ever notice he never once reaches for a Kleenex? All that crying, and excuse my language, all that
snotting, he never reaches for a Kleenex. Why? Was he ever really even crying, or was this just a big show?
And no, Alex Sanchez, New York, Kisha Hebbon, New York, I`m not basing the whole thing of him not reaching for a Kleenex, OK? But I want you to --
can we go back to the crime scene in the bedroom, please? He`s talking about how great their marriage was? Those are divorce papers lying right
there on the dresser.
And isn`t it true, John Rush, host of "Rush to Reason" on KLZ -- isn`t it true she suspected he was having an affair?
RUSH: Yes, that`s one of the allegations that has come out. And you know, of course, some of this, time will tell, but if that`s the case, that`s why
there`s papers there.
GRACE: That`s right. And so all this business about how happy they were - - she`s filing for divorce.
Another issue, to you, Matt Zarrell. Isn`t it true that a police report that says the neighbor says she shot -- her husband shot her. The police
report got changed to the neighbor says she shot herself? A police report was changed, Matt?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes. What we`ve learned is that a neighbor`s mother told our affiliate that the night of the shooting,
another neighbor called her, saying, Call police, your neighbor just shot his wife. But in the police report prepared by the lead detectives, he
quotes the neighbor as saying, Call police, your neighbor just shot herself.
[20:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Warning. Graphic video. The nanny cam shows it all. A mother and little girl sit together, watching cartoons, when suddenly, a 230-pound,
tattooed home invader, a hulk, bursts into the room, viciously beating mommy to the floor. Raining down one deadly blow to the next as a little
girl, her daughter, watches in horror as mommy is brutalized.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A young mother of two attacked by an intruder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The suspect kicked and punched the mom over and over again and he also tossed her downstairs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The little girl was in the room, watching her mother struggling with a stranger who kicked his way inside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining me is Bert Baron, morning show host WCTC, but first, before I go to Bert, I want you to see the nanny cam video. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SCREAMING)
GRACE: It`s almost too difficult to watch, as the cartoons continue to play in the background.
You can see the little girl cowering, hiding behind the pillow as her mommy is brutalized, all caught on a nanny cam.
There you see him opening the door and throwing the mom down the flight of stairs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:35:00] GRACE: Extremely graphic video, but that is what crime is. I want to go to Bert Baron. Could I see in the background the picture of the
home where this happened? Bert Baron, what`s so disturbing about this is that this is not this guy`s first brush with the law.
You know, there you go. Look at all the mug shots, Bert Baron. Do you know, Bert, how many times this guy has been arrested?
BERT BARON, WCTC RADIO MORNING SHOW HOST: It`s a rap sheet a mile long, Nancy. And what you said before, almost too disturbing to watch forget
about "almost", this video is the stuff that nightmares are made of. And this is -- this was just unbelievable, and this was an outrageous event.
This man should have never even been on the streets.
GRACE: Let`s take a look at the rap sheet. Let`s start at the beginning. December `88, burglary, four years probation; `91, possession of a handgun,
probation; burglary, probation; robbery and assault, 10 years in jail. That`s in `93, but in less than five years, he`s out on parole.
Violated in `98, returns to prison, but then, amazingly, just a few months later, he`s released. Again, resisting arrest, eluding police, 2000; theft,
2000, he gets out, does it again; burglary, 2003, less than three years he`s paroled.
Violation, paroled; violation, forgery, 2005, gets to halfway house; escapes the halfway house; returned to prison, released from prison;
burglary, 2010; burglary again four days later, he gets straight probation, both-times.
Burglary, 2011, he`s released in less than a year; 2013, home invasion. And I want to tell you what I`ve got here in my hands. An eerily similar case
where he breaks into a home, the mom and the child are there, he attacks them, steals a bunch of jewelry and he`s caught with jewelry and a camera.
It just goes on and on. Bert Baron, WCTC, what judges keep giving this guy probation?
BARON: Nancy, once a criminal, always a criminal. We should have never gotten to this point. And the fact that this woman had to take that
horrific beating from this man, right in front of her own daughter, absolutely inexcusable. Put this man behind bars, kiss him goodbye and
leave him there for the rest of his life.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Oh, yeah, he`s smiling. Would you show him smiling because he`s probably going to get probation again.
For those of you just joining us, look what we obtained. Caught on nanny cam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SCREAMING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: All this caught on nanny cam.
Larry Fishelson, technology expert with DynaLink Communications, explain to me how this was hidden and he didn`t realize he was being caught on nanny
cam. P.S., they did not have a home alarm. They had one installed that day after mommy takes all these deadly blows.
How can that be, Larry Fishelson?
LARRY FISHELSON, DYNALINK COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY EXPERT: Nancy, what happens is these little cams are hidden in different parts of the house.
You could put it in a little household item and it`s almost impossible to see.
What they do is they record real time through the Wi-Fi, which you could see on your computer app. and it`s all locked and it`s all there ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Right.
FISHELSON: But these are hidden pieces.
GRACE: Thank God they had it. Unleash the lawyers, Alex Sanchez, New York; Kisha Hebbon, New York. All right, Kisha Hebbon, what`s your defense?
KISHA HEBBON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, if I was his attorney, I would say that it`s not 100 percent clear from the video footage that it`s him.
Sometimes video footage does not show up close pictures of the person`s face, so then it will be up to the jury to decide whether it`s him on the
video or not.
GRACE: So, OK, could you please put up Kisha Hebbon. So, Kisha, should I believe you or my lying eyes? Because it looks like him to me and not only
that, you`ve got the victim I.D. and the little girl I.D. and you got this.
Alex Sanchez, you know what this is, right? This is called a similar transaction. This comes into evidence to show frame of mind, course of
conduct, pattern, practice. He did the same exact thing over and over and over. This is attempted murder, Alex.
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don`t think identification is going to work on this case. The only conceivable defense, and I know you hate when I
bring this up, is his mental capacity to stand trial.
GRACE: He`s already tried it.
SANCHEZ: And as a matter of fact, he was examined by a psychiatrist, and the psychiatrist determined that he was not competent to stand trial.
Another psychiatrist ...
[20:40:00] GRACE: Hold on.
SANCHEZ: ... said he was competent. But this case should have been determined by the examination of further psychiatrist ...
GRACE: Uh-huh.
SANCHEZ: ... to make a final determination.
GRACE: Uh-huh. Well, you know, Dr. Tiffany Sanders is with me, psychologist. Now, let`s bring that up. Thank you Alex Sanchez, I rarely
get the opportunity to say that.
Dr. Tiffany Sanders, the judge heard from psychiatrists and psychologists, and the judge ruled he is competent to stand trial. He is competent.
This guy, why did they even offer him a plea to start with? Can you (inaudible) -- put Tiffany up, please. They offered him a plea deal. Why?
It`s on video. Try the guy. Put him in jail for life. The next time, somebody`s going to be dead, Tiffany.
TIFFANY SANDERS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Absolutely, Nancy. And even though one psychiatrist said that he wasn`t competent, another one did. And I bet you,
if I was in this room long enough to speak with him, he made a conscious decision to go into this woman`s house to brutalize her and her daughter.
This is a man who is likely psychopathic or a sociopath and should absolutely be placed in jail.
GRACE: You know, Stacey Newman was there. Any link between the perp and the victim, did they know each other in any way?
STACEY NEWMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, according to police, they did not know each other, but he pretended they did when he was being
interviewed by the doctors, in this case, and said he attacked her when she changed her mind about leaving her husband to run away with him.
GRACE: What? What, what, what? Put Stacey up. Put her up. Stacey, he actually tried to claim that this woman was going to run away with him,
with the 21 entries on his record? Are you serious? Who would run away with a jailbird?
NEWMAN: He was blaming her for this attack. She was supposed to run off with him, changed her mind, now he`s going to beat her up in front of her
little girl.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: The desperate search for a Florida mom, her car just discovered outside of a Beall`s Department Store, where she works.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is Kerry Jones? Mother of two, Jones has been missing from her Jacksonville, Florida home for days. Her boyfriend says
she left after they had an argument and he filed a missing persons report two days later when she failed to show up for work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Dave Priest joining me, morning talk show host with WRNN. Dave, thank you for being with us. I understand it is still ruled a missing
person. Yes, no?
DAVE PRIEST, WRNN MORNING TALK SHOW HOST: Still ruled a missing person. They have not said that foul play is being suspected, at least at this
point. They`re still investigating.
GRACE: That`s very disturbing to me. Can I see the Beall`s parking lot where she worked, there at Beall`s Department Store? What`s unusual is that
she got off work, Dave Priest, joining me from WRNN, she got off work that Sunday evening and then she goes missing.
People saw her leave in her vehicle, but mysteriously her car is re-parked in the Beall`s parking lot after she`s reported missing?
PRIEST: Yeah. Two days later, the car is back in the parking lot of the department store and she doesn`t show up for work. So that`s what prompts
her co-workers to call her boyfriend. Her boyfriend then at that point decides oh, maybe I need to file a missing persons report and so it`s not
until that time. So, you`re right, the car is ...
GRACE: Hold on ...
PRIEST: ... back where it started but Kerry Jones is not there.
GRACE: Let me back up on something you just said, Dave. Dave, you just said, co-workers call her live-in to tell him she`s missing?
PRIEST: Well, at that point in time, he knew that she was gone, according to the police report, but he hadn`t called anybody to that point to report
her missing until two days later.
GRACE: To Dr. Tim Gallagher, forensic pathologist joining us out of Daytona Beach. Dr. Gallagher, what could we learn from the inside of that car,
specifically whose prints were on the wheel?
TIM GALLAGHER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: We could learn from the inside of the car by forensic fingerprinting, who was driving the car. We could will also
see if there were signs of a struggle within the car, if there was any blood or tissue, trace evidence such as hair, hair fibers, fingernail
scratchings, things of that nature that would help up determine if there was a violent episode before she was reported missing.
GRACE: Michael Christian, on the story, isn`t it true that Kerry met her boyfriend on the popular site, "PlentyOfFish"? What do we know about that?
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yeah, that`s right, Nancy, and apparently that happened some time last summer or early fall. In October,
she moved from her home in Alabama to Jacksonville, Florida to move in with him after meeting him online.
GRACE: So, she was in a new place essentially. She only known this guy from about six months then she moves from Pell, Alabama to Jacksonville, away
from her family, everybody she knows, to make it work with this guy.
Now, let me ask you this, I`m suspicious about a post that purports to be from her boyfriend, whom we are not naming, but, what does this post say,
Michael Christian?
CHRISTIAN: Basically, Nancy, it says that they had a fight the night she went missing and he claims that she hit him in the head with a coffee cup
or mug, a heavy mug, so hard that he was bleeding and passed out and didn`t wake up until the next morning.
Now, what`s interesting is that the police cannot confirm that whoever posted this was actually her boyfriend. And there`s nothing in the police
report that he filed that refers to this in any way.
GRACE: "Hiding out because she was worried?" Dave Priest, WRNN, did you hear what Christian just said? That there`s a posting purporting to be from
the boyfriend she`s living with that says he thinks she is hiding out because she`s hit him in the head with a coffee mug?
[20:50:00] PRIEST: Yeah, sounds a little bit weird to me as well. And I`m not -- I`m not a doctor, but Dr. Gallagher can maybe answer the question as
well. He says he was knocked unconscious `til the next morning. Now, this is in T.V. and movies where you get up from being unconscious, rub your
eyes and you go about your business.
If you are unconscious for six to eight hours, you`re going to report it or go to the hospital. And, plus, the police report didn`t say a thing about
finding blood even ...
GRACE: You know what?
PRIEST: ... though he said in his Facebook post that the police came and collected the bloody cup and rags. But that`s not in the police report.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Alex Sanchez, New York; Kisha Hebbon, New York. Really? Again? Can I please see the lawyers?
He says he blacked out. At that critical moment when she disappears, Alex. Why does that always happen at exactly when the gun is shot, when the match
is struck, when the knife is pulled? The witness blacks out right then.
SANCHEZ: Things always seem to happen at the worst possible time.
GRACE: Yeah. Crazy, isn`t it?
SANCHEZ: By the way, Nancy, do you know what he should do? He should file a complaint against her for assault in the police department so that they
could send out ...
GRACE: Kisha ...
SANCHEZ: ... a warrant for her arrest.
GRACE: ... you are not shaking your head, yes, I hope, Kisha ...
(CROSSTALK)
HEBBON: No.
GRACE: ... I didn`t see you shaking your head yes.
HEBBON: Not at all, Nancy. My problem with this is that we don`t know who put the post. I think it`s the real defendant or criminal that put that ...
GRACE: (Inaudible)
HEBBON: ... to try to make it seem like it was the boyfriend who took her.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A rich kid, high on weed and Xanax mows four people down, dead. A fifth, paralyzed for life. He gets straight probation for killing four and
he and his mom skip to Mexico, living it up in a beachside resort blowing two grand on strip clubs.
But tonight, it`s a family affair now. The `affluenza` mom is free, on house arrest. And in the last hours, does `affluenza` dad strangle a woman?
And like father, like son, gets away with it. Well, `affluenza` teen is now in solitary because he`s in danger?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s another child in the ditch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities say fellow inmates might want to harm Ethan Couch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m telling you it`s dark. There`s four or five kids -- there`s kids laying in ditches and street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So special efforts are being made which include keeping the teen in total isolation.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Candace Trunzo, senior news editor, dailymail.com. Just hearing that 911 call again?
CANDACE TRUNZO, DAILYMAIL.COM SENIOR NEWS EDITOR: It`s the chills, yeah.
GRACE: Breaks your heart. Four people dead. They were on the road, the side of the road, trying to change a flat tire. Breanna Mitchell, the mom,
Hollie Boyles and her daughter Shelby tried to help her.
Brian Jennings, a youth pastor tries to help when there comes Ethan Couch, drunk and high on booze he stole from Walmart, mows them down then lies
about it. Long story short, the defense in trial was he and his family are so rich he can`t relate to regular people and doesn`t know right from wrong
because he`s so rich. And it worked. He got straight probation. What can you tell me about Fred Couch, the father, Candace?
TRUNZO: Well, Fred Couch has a history, a history of arrest, but the most recent incident was his girlfriend called police, said that Fred was
choking her. Police came to the scene. Fred fled before they even got there.
When they saw her, they saw red marks on her neck. But before they could question her, she left, too. She won`t press charges and Fred gets away
with whatever he might have done to the girlfriend.
GRACE: Candace Trunzo senior news editor, dailymail.com, I hear you keep saying she won`t press charges. She is not the state. The state is the one
to press charges.
They, police, saw red marks on her throat. She called 911 saying he was strangling her. He runs. When I see the police, Justin Freiman, I don`t run
away. When I see a cop, I don`t run. Why did he run away?
And, Justin, is it true, after the mother takes `affluenza boy` on the run to Mexico, to that beachside resort ...
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Uh-huh.
GRACE: ... is it true she`s off the hook for all the money it took to get her and her son back here scot-free?
FREIMAN: Well, that`s right. First, they lowered her bond from a million to $75,000. They claimed she`s broke, and then they said, you know what, at
least for now, she does not have to repay the state for the thousands that were spent to bring her back to Texas.
GRACE: You know, Candace Trunzo`s dailymail.com, it could be argued the whole bunch is just a bunch of hooligans.
TRUNZO: Well, you know, a magazine in Dallas did a piece on the family, and they called these parents "the worst parents in America." And when you see
the way the parents have acted and you see what happened to Ethan Couch, the way he behaved on the run, going to bars, stripping, you know, lap
dances, booze, drugs. I mean, you know that this is a very dysfunctional family, beyond ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Well, you know what? You may be right, Candace Trunzo, but the reality is the justice system and the judges are letting them all get away
with it.
Let`s stop and remember, American hero Maryland Senior Deputy, Mark Logsdon, 43, killed in the line of duty. Army Vet. Served the law 16 years.
Central Texas grad who loved golf, cards, Seattle Seahawks. Parents, John and Debra; sister, Ricki; widow, Jennifer. Three children with an unborn
grand. Mark Logsdon, American hero.
Thanks to our guests, but especially to you for joining us. Nancy Grace, signing off for tonight. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8 o`clock sharp,
Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
[21:00:00]
END
